Kissinger: "US-China Conflict Could Become Global Disaster... Biden Must Restore Communication Channels"

Attended Bloomberg Forum... "Must Agree to No Military Conflict Under Any Circumstances"
"COVID-19 Response Can Be an Opportunity for Dialogue"

(Photo by AP Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger warned that the world could fall into a catastrophe due to U.S.-China conflicts and emphasized that President-elect Joe Biden must quickly restore the disrupted communication channels between the two countries after taking office to prevent military clashes.

On the 16th (local time), Kissinger attended the Bloomberg New Economy Forum and said, "If there is no effort to cooperate, the world could fall into a catastrophe comparable to World War I." He expressed concern that the U.S. and China are heading toward an extreme confrontation, and modern military technology will make such a crisis "much harder to control than in the past."

Kissinger, who is 97 years old this year, secretly visited China in 1971 as a National Security Council (NSC) advisor during the Nixon administration and successfully arranged the historic U.S.-China summit. He also led the Vietnam War ceasefire agreement in 1973 on the condition of the phased withdrawal of U.S. troops stationed in South Vietnam. Until recently, he has made efforts to ease U.S.-China tensions by traveling to China several times and meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Kissinger viewed the COVID-19 pandemic as a potential opportunity for U.S.-China dialogue. He said, "So far, each country has responded independently to the COVID-19 threat, but long-term solutions can only come through global cooperation," adding, "We need to learn this."

Kissinger noted that U.S.-China relations have rapidly frozen this year due to events such as the Hong Kong situation and stressed, "Both sides must agree not to engage in military conflict regardless of any other disputes." To this end, he argued that the two countries should jointly establish an institutional system that allows trusted individuals from both sides to meet and communicate.

Regarding China's human rights issues, Kissinger said, "There are differences between the two countries," and added, "Both sides need to understand each other's sensitivities, and it is important not necessarily to solve the problems but to mitigate and make progress on them."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.